Most factors in the development of liver cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma are not inherited
Hepatocellular carcinoma itself is not usually inherited.
Risk factors for the development of liver cancer are primarily associated with viral infection from chronic hepatitis B or chronic hepatitis C, and cirrhosis of the liver from any cause.
The main factors that cause cirrhosis are the following:
- Chronic hepatitis B and C viral infection;
- Alcohol, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver;
- Drugs and toxins, such as aflatoxin, methyldopa, carbon tetrachloride;
- Autoimmune diseases, such as autoimmune hepatitis;
- Primary biliary cirrhosis due to cholestasis;
- Hereditary and metabolic diseases, such as hemochromatosis, Wilson’s disease, alpha1-AT deficiency, glycogen accumulation disorder;
- Schistosomiasis;
- Disorders of hepatic circulation, such as Bu-ga syndrome, hepatic small vein occlusion, etc.
With the exception of some rare genetic disorders (e.g., wilson’s disease, glycogen accumulation disorder, and α1-antitrypsinogen deficiency), most factors in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma are not inherited.
Reasons for familial aggregation of liver cancer
Chronic hepatitis B and C can be transmitted through maternal-fetal, blood-borne transmission, in which the fetus is exposed to large amounts of maternal body fluids containing the virus during or after delivery, and thus familial aggregation of hepatocellular carcinoma can be observed clinically.
The following measures can try to avoid the above:
- For pregnant women with infectious hepatitis B, the risk of fetal infection can be significantly reduced by aggressive antiviral therapy in mid-pregnancy;
- Hepatitis B immunoglobulin injections within 12 hours of fetal birth can significantly reduce the risk of perinatal infection.